greenhouse - Grow-How Blog

Creating a Planter That Reflects You!

Jun 212012

By Laura Hughes, Greenhouse Supervisor, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

Creating beautiful annual planters is not a science, but rather a work of art that reflects you! I always start by determining my light conditions (sun vs. shade) and the color scheme I want to use. Then I consider the symmetry to use by asking myself if the planter will be viewed from all sides or only from the front. Once these questions have been answered, it’s time to begin creating using the “Thrill, Fill, and Spill” method. Imagine the letter “A” when thinking “Thrill, Fill, and Spill.” It’s tall in the middle and widens and fills out as you go down.

Thrill yourself with something dramatic in the center of the planter – something tall and eye-catching. Depending on the light conditions this “thrill” can be anything with height (i.e. grass, dahlias, or guara, to name a few.)

“Fill” plants can provide variety and texture to your planter. Two of our most popular “fill” plants are euphorbia and coleus. Euphorbia, with its dainty, airy white flowers, provides a nice contrast to other darker colors. Coleus can provide interest and texture through its vivid colors and patterns.

Don’t forget the “spill!” There are so many vibrant trailing plants that can be used for drama and contrast that it will be hard to choose. A few of my favorites are ipomoea (sweet potato vine), torenia, lysimachia, calibrachoa (million bells), ivy, and verbena.

The key elements of any beautiful planter are height, texture, and color. Don’t be afraid to experiment when you’re shopping. Using your shopping cart as your planter, pick plants that you love. Arrange them on the cart as you would in your planter. Doesn’t look quite right? Reposition them, change colors, add or subtract until you have the combination that express you. If you’re still not sure, find one of our friendly, knowledgeable staff. We are always available to help with ideas! Most of all have fun and don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities.

In the following photo, the fountain is the “thriller” and gives dramatic height to the arrangement of flowers. The fountain is “filled” on the top level with torenia and on the lower level with petunias and grasses. The “spillers” are ipomoea and lamium.

In the next photo, we have bold, gigantic colocasia (elephant ears) as our “thriller” with light pink impatiens as “fillers” and ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra as the “spiller.”

These matching arrangements feature carex grass as the “thriller” with New Guinea impatiens and their pink and red flowers as the “filler” and lime green lysimachia as the “spiller.”

Starting Tomatoes and Peppers from Seed

Garden Center 1 Response »

Mar 262012

By Kim Gaida, Store Manager, Dundee Plymouth

BLT’s and stuffed peppers – as I thought about starting tomatoes and peppers from seed, my two favorite summer dishes popped into my head (and made me hungry). If you like either of these foods, or similar ones, you might want to think about starting them from seeds so you can make BLT’s and stuffed peppers this summer with fresh-off-the-vine vegetables from your own garden. Peppers and tomatoes are wonderful summer vegetables that are easy to start from seed for your garden. Let me share some of my tips for starting them.

When starting seeds, the main thing to think about is timing. Tomatoes and peppers should be started about 6 to 8 weeks before they are to go outside (after the last frost). Timing the seeding right will reduce the number of times you will need to repot the seedlings before they can be planted outside.

Seeds can be started easily and with something as simple as a cut down milk jug and some potting mix. Garden centers, like Dundee, will carry an array of different seeding trays and containers for seeds to be started in, depending on the plants you are seeding, but almost any container that holds soil and allows extra water to drain out can be used.

Once you have your container, fill it with your 1 – 1.5 inches of soil mix. Your soil should contain some peat moss to help keep the seeds moist as they germinate. Wet your soil before you fill your container. Then the soil will not settle as much in the container. Place the seeds on the top of the soil and cover with ¼ inch of the soil mix and gently pat down.

Cover the top of the container with a plastic dome if you are using a seeding tray. Oftentimes the tray and dome come as a set. If there is no dome, you can use a plastic wrap. Vent plastic wrapped trays to prevent condensation from forming. The seeds will start to germinate in 10-14 days depending on the variety of tomato or pepper you are planting. Check your seeds every 2-3 days and keep the soil moist. This can be done easily with a spray bottle in the beginning, so that the soil doesn’t become too moist. Don’t allow your soil to become too wet as this can result in the seedlings “damping off” (a fungus condition that causes the stem to weaken and the seedling to keel over).

Damping Off

After the seeds have germinated (sprouted), the containers will need to be placed in the light. Florescent lights can be used or place the containers near the window. Florescent lights should be placed within 6 inches of the top of the soil and should be on 12- 16 hours daily (timers can be used for the lights). The lights should be kept 6 inches above the top of the plants, so the lights will be need to be adjusted regularly as the plants grow. If your seedlings are by a window, make sure to turn the container every day. If you don’t turn the tray your seedlings will keep reaching for the sun and grow crooked.

Thanks to Golden Hound for making this image available through Creative Commons

Depending on when you sowed your seeds, you may need to replant seedlings before they can go outside. Place transplants in slightly larger containers to give them room to grow. This will keep the plants happy and healthy.

Before you plant your vegetables in the garden, they need to be “hardened off.” This means getting them used to the outside conditions before you actually plant them in the ground so they won’t get sunburned. Place them in a shady location for the first few days so they get used to the outdoors and bring them back inside at night. This usually needs to be done for about a week or two depending on the weather.

After your plants are hardened off, they can be planted in your garden or container. Carefully monitor the soil moisture levels, especially during the first week as the plants adapt to their new surroundings. This would also be the ideal time to place a tomato cage or something similar around the plants.

Happy Planting. Enjoy your summer produce and share!!

Intro to Dundee Nursery Garden Centers

Garden Center 3 Responses »

Mar 192012

By Kim Gaida, Store Manager, Dundee Plymouth

Dundee Nursery and Landscaping is your local source for the best quality annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs. As a garden center we not only provide great plants, we offer you tools, home gifts, fountains, statuary, lawn and garden chemicals, fertilizers, and a full service floral department. All those products plus employees that can talk to you about all your yard and garden needs!

Our nursery has a vast selection of trees, shrubs, and evergreens to create and enhance your residential landscape. Our extensive list of plants will grow well in this area and many will be suitable for your northern lake home. Dundee growers are very selective when it comes to hardy plants to insure they will survive in Minnesota’s climate. Our Plymouth store also has a fun selection of zone 5 plants (we are in zone 4) that need a little more winter protection, but offer a wonderful accent to any landscape. Ask our friendly experts any questions you have regarding the hardiness of a particular plant.

Perennials are plants that will die back to the ground between growing seasons, but will come back year after year. We carry over 400 varieties of perennials and will help you find the right plant for any location. Each year we strive to bring you new varieties to add unique accents to your perennial gardens. If you are looking for something special, talk to us about ordering in it for you. We can’t always get everything, but we will try.

Annual flowers will only last one growing season, but will give you a full season of fabulous color when cared for properly. Most of our annuals are homegrown at our greenhouses in Fletcher, MN (near Rogers, MN) and at our location in Hutchinson. Our talented growers take the time to select a wide range of annuals, including many of the new varieties that local gardeners “must have.” We have your favorite geraniums, impatiens, and pansies as well a real “wow-factor” selections such as dinner-plate dahlias, elephant ears, and popcorn plants. Our experts can certainly help you get the most from the annuals you choose.

Dundee is known for producing some of the most beautiful hanging baskets and patio planters around. Our growers always have an eye out for new and exciting plant and color combinations. We use our large selection of annuals, tropical plants, and even perennials to create what you want for your home or business.

Do you want something custom made with your favorite flowers and colors? We can absolutely do that. Bring in your own planters or baskets and we will put together your custom design. You can always select new planters and baskets from our large, in-store selection, too.

Our custom work doesn’t end with planters or baskets. Talk to our staff about filling your planters or window boxes at your home. Pick out the plants you would like in them, and we will arrange to come out to your location and plant up your containers.

Our Garden Centers are located in Plymouth and Hutchinson. Each store has unique plant assortments and product offerings. Please visit www.DundeeNursery.com to learn more about each store. When you have questions you can also call us in Plymouth at 763-559-4016 and in Hutchinson at 320-587-4664.

Dundee’s “Friendly Experts with Local Grow-How” are ready to help!

We Grow Our Own…Dundee Greenhouse Growers

Dundee Growers, Fundraising, Garden Center No Responses »

Mar 122012

By Tammy Field, Dundee Nursery Grower

Nothing is better than the burst of color or the explosion of fragrance that greets you when walking into a neighborhood nursery and garden center in May.

Wait a minute…there is something better. How about that same beautiful garden center in all its glory with plants grown right there by that same garden center?

Dundee Nursery has its own growing facility for each of their two locations in Plymouth and Hutchinson, MN, with tens of thousands of square feet dedicated to growing annuals…and that’s good news for you, the gardener.

Doing our own growing means we have employees who have intimate knowledge of the specific growing needs of your plants. At the Hutchinson location our retail sales staff steps out of our growing greenhouses onto the sales floor bringing that knowledge right to you – the local gardener. We know from experience what that gazania needs to give you a season-long pop of color or what you can do to assure that your bacopa blooms continuously.

Dundee greenhouse growers at each location not only bring years of experience in growing individual plants, but also experience in designing combinations for your pots, baskets, and containers. While many garden centers bring in nice combination baskets or pots (sometimes from us, as we are wholesalers as well!) we Dundee growers annually design combinations that are spectacular showpieces for your home as well as easy for you to maintain. Our staff is very skilled at translating that experience into the ability to help you make your own combinations and coordinate those pots with your overall garden design. Like landscape designers for your yard, we are designers for your pots, baskets, and gardens. We can tell you that Goldilocks Lysmachia may be a better trailing plant for your shady window box than Chambray Verbena or how many Bubblegum petunia plants you need so they don’t overwhelm the Sweet Tart Millionbells in your personally designed basket.

We are also wholesale growers. We provide our homegrown product to other garden centers and to groups for fundraisers from the Twin Cities to the South Dakota border. Those garden centers are looking for high quality plants at a reasonable cost. What we grow, they want! That says a lot about our product.

Friendly Experts…Local Grow-How. It’s not just a catch phrase, it’s who we are.
See you at Dundee in Plymouth and in Hutchinson.

Welcome to the Dundee Grow-How Blog

Dundee Growers, Floral, Garden Center, Landscape Design 2 Responses »

Mar 052012

By Kevin Theis, Dundee Owner The Theis Family and Dundee Nursery and Landscaping would like to welcome you to our new blog. Our goal is to bring you many new and different ideas for the Minnesota climate. We are your Friendly Experts with Local Grow-How and we’re really excited to get this conversation started. Our [...]